EWING, N.J. – Three Ursinus men's wrestlers qualified for the NCAA Championships after standout performances at the NCAA Region III Championships on Saturday afternoon.

 
The Bears totaled six place-winners en route to a fourth-place team finish with 109 points. No. 3 and host The College of New Jersey won the team title with 174 points, followed by No. 11 New York University (140). Messiah (133.5) placed third, Ursinus finished fourth, and Arcadia (98.5) rounded out the top five of the 21-team field. The fourth-place finish marked the Bears' highest regional finish since placing third during the 2015-16 season.

 
Juniors Andrew Schaen (141 pounds), Braden Kmak (157) and 11th-ranked Mohamed Abdelatty (285) will represent Ursinus at the NCAA Division III Championships in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in March. Kmak and Abdelatty each reached the championship match and finished second overall. They became the first Ursinus duo to reach the regional finals since Terry Adams won the NCAA Mideast Regional Championship in February 2023. Schaen punched his ticket to nationals by winning the consolation final to place third at 141.

 
"We competed really well this weekend, and the coaching staff is proud of the team's efforts," Director of Wrestling Joe Jamison said. "This was our best performance since I have been here, despite the fact that our region was as challenging as ever before. We left it all out on the mat and we're excited for Andrew, Braden and Mo."

 
Senior Anthony Cerulli placed fourth at 174, classmate Michael Adams took fifth at 125, and fellow senior Derek Giordano finished eighth at 165 to round out the Bears' place-winners.

 
Jamison added, "Our hearts break for our seniors who came close to qualifying but fell just short. However, I am so thankful for their contributions over the last four years. Mikey, Derek and AJ were essential components of the program's success, and we're going to miss them."
 

Ursinus' first national qualifier came at 157 as Kmak earned a 6-5 decision over second-seeded Gavin Pascoe of Gettysburg College. Kmak avenged a loss to Pascoe at the Centennial Conference Championships by earning a comeback victory to reach the finals. He faced a 5-1 deficit entering the third period before tallying an escape and a takedown to tie the match at five with 31 seconds remaining. After an injury timeout, Kmak chose bottom and secured the go-ahead point with an escape to clinch the victory and punch his ticket to Cedar Rapids. He finished second overall after falling by a 17-4 major decision in the finals to Albright's fourth-ranked and top-seeded Trent Mahoney.
At 285, Abdelatty secured his championship appearance by defeating Misericordia's Aiden Hidlay, 9-5, in the semifinal round. Abdelatty recorded a pair of takedowns en route to the win. He also finished second after falling by fall in the regional final to Arcadia's fourth-ranked Logan Flynn.

 
At 141, Schaen dropped his semifinal bout to top-seeded and eventual champion Vincent Santaniello of TCNJ. He responded in the consolation bracket with a 5-2 decision over Messiah's Jacob Cunningham and an 8-1 decision against Eastern's Ryan Mansueto to finish third and clinch his first appearance at nationals. Against Mansueto, Schaen secured a pair of takedowns and fended off several late shots to seal the victory.
 

Cerulli also reached the championship semifinals before falling to top-seeded and eventual champion Hunter Mays of TCNJ. He rebounded with a 14-7 victory over Albright's Davis Keppley to advance to the third-place match but dropped a 14-9 decision to Messiah's Zach Needles to finish fourth for the second consecutive season. Cerulli closes his career as a two-time Centennial Conference champion with a 104-37 record, including 73 wins by pin.
 

Adams opened the second day of competition with a first-period pin at the 2:23 mark over York's Jacob Delvecchio. Adams executed a gator roll in neutral to secure the takedown and fall, advancing to the consolation semifinals. After falling to Muhlenberg's CJ Horvath, 9-0, Adams responded with a 14-4 major decision over Misericordia's Jaydein Barreto to place fifth. He concluded his senior season with a 27-9 record and a runner-up finish at the Centennial Conference Championships.

 
At 165, Giordano fell in his opening match to Nick Bell of New York University, who went on to place third. In the seventh-place match, Giordano fell by fall to Eastern's Nicholas DeLorenzo to finish eighth in his regional debut.
 

The Bears return to action Friday, March 13th, at the NCAA Division III Championships in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, at Alliant Energy Powerhouse.